A Picture of a Friend

Seeing the picture of Esther Dubin (“In Sickness and In Health,” March 21), and the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease filled me with immense sadness.

As a 15-year-old newcomer to Baltimore from Queens, N.Y., and raised in a secular home, I knew nothing about Judaism. I felt totally lost in my new Jewish neighborhood, where everyone seemed to be so religiously connected.

Esther befriended me and took me to Beth El Synagogue, then located on Hilton Street, where I entered a synagogue for the first time in my life. She taught me the Shema and how to behave and pray as a Jew. Thanks to Esther, I was launched on my Jewish journey.

This is the picture of Esther Dubin that I choose to remember and cherish.